Natural Disaster
by AryanaRayna
Summary: Ashley is a single mother living in a world where the dead rise up to feast on the living. Her only job: keep her 10 year old son alive.
1. Description

Ashley is a single mother living in a world where the dead rise up to feast on the living. Her only job: keep her 10 year old son alive. She thinks she can do it on her own until 1/2 of her past that she fought so hard to keep locked away appears and shows her that she doesn't need to carry the world on her shoulders by introducing her to a group of survivors on a farm in rural Georgia.

How far is she willing to go to keep her son safe? How far is she willing to go to keep her past locked away? And what happens if the other 1/2 of her past appears? Will it ruin her or will she rise above the ashes in this Natural Disaster?

A/N: I am only going to post these first couple chapters for now. I just want to see what everyone thinks about the story. I wont post again until the story is finished. So if you like it and want me to complete it, let me know :) XOXO-A


	2. Chapter 1

The sun hung high in the blue Georgia sky, the light filtering through the leaves casting shadows at every turn. Ashley stepped carefully through the forest, being sure to stay as quiet as possible. Moaning and shuffling could be heard behind her, causing her heart rate to pick up at the noise. A bead of sweat pouring from her brow. The moans were still too far back to be of much concern to her, but it was still an awful sound to hear. The world was coming to an end. The dead was alive, some sort of virus that caused you to come back to life if you were bitten or scratched. This was the new world. It was dark, ugly and cruel.

Her auburn locks were matted with sweat. She was sure she had the whole forest floor stuck in her hair. She'd spent the whole day hunting for food and only had a small rabbit to show for it. She slowed a bit when a small hunting cabin came into view. A smile playing on her lips. There was a 10 year old boy on the other side of the door that had her heart.

Gabriel was a bright child who was too smart for his own good, but this world has changed him. Ashley watched as he grew older, more wiser in the last 4 months. She never dreamt being a single mother was this hard, but it was something she wouldn't give for the world.

Ashley maneuvered her small frame around the cabin, checking to make sure she wasn't followed. It was a ritual, second nature to her now. Satisfied, she bound up the front porch and whistled out. The door flew open and a dark shaggy haired boy with bright blue eyes opened the door and attacked her waist.

"Momma!" His voice was barely above a whisper. She smiled down at him and pulled him close.

"Anything happen today?" He nodded and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the cabin quickly. The little bit of light coming through the cracks in the boarded up windows was the only light in the cabin. It was small and dusty, but the one bedroom and one bathroom house was more than enough for the two of them. Ashley's eyes traced the fireplace, photos of the owner were still sitting atop the mantle. Ashley never had the heart to remove them. The inside of the fire place was already filled with the last of the firewood, a nagging reminder that she needed to get more. It was already cold at night. Winter was just around the corner.

"There was a girl," Gabriel said, bring Ashley's attention back to her son. "I know you said not to let anyone in, but I had to. I couldn't leave her out there," his words were jumbled together, he was talking so fast. Just then, a small girl, no older than 12, came in from the kitchen. Her eyes were wide at the sight of Ashley. She moved slowly, never taking her eyes off her, to a ragged chair in the corner of the room. The girl was small, her clothes torn, her hair a mess. She quickly pulled her knees up to her chest and formed a ball position, still watching Ashley.

Ashley walked up to her and noticed the girl flinched as Ashley crouched in front of her. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said, holding her hands palm out to her as a sign of ease. "Why were you out there alone?" She kept her voice soft and motherly. Ashley noticed a few scrapes across the girls body underneath the dirt and grime. This girl was running from something.

The girl proceeded to tell her about a group she was with, including her mother, on the highway. The walkers showed up and scared her off into the woods. She'd been running for 3 days.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Ashley knew she had to help this girl get back to her group. Her mother was probably worried sick. She knew she would be if Gabriel went missing.

"Sophia," the little girl whispered. Ashley smiled kindly to her and introduced herself and Gabriel.

"We'll leave first thing in the morning to find your group," she said, rising to gather some blankets and some of Gabriel's clothes for her. She was sure they would do for the night while she cleaned the ones the girl had on. "Its too late to go out now. We'll be out there searching in the dark. Sleep here tonight and we'll leave at first light to find them," she told her when the girl looked a little sad about not leaving now.

Ashley stepped into the kitchen to turn on the pilot of the stove and pulled out a pot, her hand's working on auto pilot as she took the small rabbit outside to skin and prep it. It was a task she was taught long ago, in another life.

"Do you think we'll find them?" Sophia asked at the table during dinner. Ashley looked at the kids who were eating and smiled.

"Yeah. I do. They couldn't of gone far. Not if you're missing from the group," she said matter of factly. This seemed to please Sophia. The small girl smiled at the thought of seeing her group again.

That evening, after putting Sophia and Gabriel to bed in the back room, Ashley sat on the front porch, getting ready to watch the sun set along the horizon. Cigarette in hand, she took a long drag, allowing the toxins to fill her lungs and wash away the tension she felt throughout her body.

Just as she was about to stand, she heard a rustling behind her. She rose up slowly, stubbing the cigarette out and tip toed around to the edge of the cabin. Her hands reached for the hunting knife attached to her thigh in its holster. Ready to attack, she rounded the corner of the cabin and found herself staring down the wrong end of a crossbow.

Frozen with fear, she stood there. She couldn't see the person behind the crossbow, her short height and the close proximity of the weapon pointing at her had her focused more on the bow than the intruder. She squeezed her eyes shut, sending a quick prayer for the safety of Gabriel and Sophia and waited for the worse. When nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes, relieved that the person was lowering the crossbow. A man stepped forward, giving her a hard look. She gasped at the recognition.

"Dixon?" She shook her head. It couldn't be real. Of all the people to run into, she had to run into him.

"Ashley..." He breathed out, more than said. He moved closer to make sure it was really her and she took a quick step back. She felt the sudden urge to run, but her feet wouldn't allow her to move more than a couple inches.

They stood there in an awkward silence, just staring at each other. Neither wanting to blink for fear they may be imagining the other person. Ashley finally broke the spell and motioned for him to follow her. Without looking back to see if he was still there, she turned and headed back around the cabin and through the front door.

"Be quiet," she whispered to him. Gabriel and Sophia were asleep, or so she hope.

She watched the man she knew like the back of her hand, but was a stranger at the same time as he walked into the cabin, looking around. His silent foot steps carrying him through the living room and walking around to the battered couch. "Someone else here?" He asked her in a deep southern drawl she knew all too well.

She inhaled sharply, remembering that he had no idea about Gabriel and she wasn't sure she wanted to tell him now. He kept his hard eyes on her, no doubt seeing her reaction, causing chills to run down her spine at the intensity.

"Um... Yea. Sleeping," she told him. They'd known each other since elementary school, growing up together, but she'd seen first hand how this new world could change a person.

"What are you doing here, Dixon?" She finally asked him. He grunted and shook his head. He looked away to take another glance around the cabin, giving her a full view at how well this world has done for his figure. He was no longer the tall lanky kid down the street. His sleeves were cut off and he wore a black biker vest. His crossbow slung over his shoulder. She eyed his muscles for a moment before he turned to catch her looking at him. She ignored it when he gave her an amused look, but she was still caught red handed.

"Seen a little girl 'round here? Went missin' a few days ago." Her mind instantly went to Sophia. He must be talking about her. What were the odds?

She nodded to him and motioned back to the room. "Showed up here today," she told him. A look of relief washed over his face and his shoulders perked up a bit as if a weight had been lifted off. He made a move to go to the room, but Ashley stopped him.

"She's exhausted. Just let her sleep," she said. He shot her a hard look, no doubt for telling him what to do. She just shook her head, some things never change. "You can sleep on the couch tonight and y'all can leave in the morning." She moved around the couch to grab some blankets from the linen closet, but his strong hand reached out and grabbed her arm. She wouldn't look at him, instead staring off to the back room.

"Seen Merle?" His voice was low and rough. She fought the shudder at the name. She didn't want to think about the good for nothing dirt bag of a man he called his brother. She quickly shook her head no and tried to jerk her arm free.

"He went missin' a while back. Tough son of a bitch is out there somewhere," he said, tightening his grip when she jerked away from him again.

"Haven't seen him since the last I saw you. Nothing but a complete asshole that fed me to the wolves and left me for dead. You both did," she hissed at him.

"I didn't leave you for dead. He said you up and left. Didn't want nothin' to do with us," he hissed back at her. She blinked a few times when she felt a couple tears threaten to escape.

"Lies..." She yanked her arm from his grasp and moved to closet. She didn't say another word to him as she handed him and blankets, grabbed her knife and went back to the front porch.

The air was cool. A soft breeze blew back her auburn locks as she watched the moon rise in the night sky. She wiped a few tears away and tried to force the memories Daryl just opened up back down to their hiding place where she usually kept them locked tight. She didn't want to think about them. Both men were all she had for so long. They were her family, or so she thought. When she needed them most, Merle high tailed it out, taking his brother along with him.

"Not now," she whispered when she heard the front door open. She knew it was him.

"What happened?" He asked her. She shook her head. It was just like Merle to not tell his brother the truth, trying to protect him in some sick way. It killed her that Daryl honestly believed she would leave them. She fought tooth and nail for those boys.

She finally turned to look at him, tears spilling from her eyes. "I got pregnant." Daryl shot his eyes up to her in shock. He shook his head a few times, pacing the porch, mumbling random curse words she was sure was directed towards his missing brother. "I told Merle and he freaked. We had a fight the night before he kicked me out. I guess he wasn't ready to be a dad," she told him, shrugging her shoulders as if it were no big deal.

Daryl grunted and stopped pacing, turning to look at her. His sharp blue eyes bore into her emerald ones. She shook her head, knowing what he was thinking. "Don't do that. I know what you're thinking. Gabriel is the best thing that happened to me and I don't regret it one bit."

"Gabriel? You had a boy? Where is he? Is he okay?" He started shooting questions left and right at her. She held her hand up to silence him.

"Yea. I had a boy. 10 years old. He inside right now sleeping in the back room with Sophia," she told him.

"I didn't know," he mumbled, shuffling awkwardly. His hand twitched, moving to reach out before he finally dropped it back to his side. She shrugged, looking directly ahead at his chest. "I know."

"You have to come with us tomorrow. You and the kid. Y'all can't stay here on your own. Got a group. Numbers. They're good people," Daryl told her.

She thought long and hard about it. The last group she was with was not good. They were mean, gruesome, vile people. Ashley was lucky to get her and Gabriel out alive. She finally brought her eyes up to his and locked eyes with him.

"Boy's blood. I can't leave ya here," he told her. She studied him for a moment before nodding her head.

"Okay. We'll leave in the morning," she told him


	3. Chapter 2

Ashley woke to the sounds of footsteps coming down the hall. She opened her eyes and saw Gabe staring at her in wonder. His shaggy hair standing on end, sleep dripping from his eyes. It was then she realized she was not in her bed. A foot was lodged in her back and her head was resting on the arm of the couch.

She jumped up quickly, not caring if she woke her companion up in the process. She couldn't imagine what was going through her son's mind. She had fallen asleep on the couch with Daryl.

"Gabe! You're up," she said, pretending like it was a normal occurance for her to be asleep on the couch, let alone with another person. Gabriel eyed the man who was starting to groan from all the commotion.

"Who's he?" Gabriel was immediatly on the defense. Ashley just shook her head. This world made him hard. It was no way for a child to grow up, but then again, in this world, it was better than him being open and welcoming to strangers. That got you killed.

"This is Daryl," she told him motioning behind her to Daryl who was already sitting up on the couch. Gabriel gave her a questioning look. "I grew up with him. He's a good man and was looking for Sophia. He's part of her group," she tried explaining to him. She felt silly explaining herself to a 10 year old.

The boy continued to eye the man just as Sophia walked into the room, her eyes lighting up at the sight of someone from her group. Ashley thought it best to give them some privacy, taking the opertunity to tell Gabriel their next move.

"We need to talk," she said as soon as they walked into the small kitchen. Gabriel grabbed a water off the counter, taking a quck swig of it. "You ain't gonna be happy, but you gotta trust me," she continued. She watched his face for any reaction before she dropped the bomb on him. Her greatest fear other than losing him was him hating her. "We're gonna go with them," she finished.

Gabriel spit the water in his mouth out. No doubt he was furious. Their last group was less than friendly. Ashley quickly learned that everyone wasn't what they seemed and when her and Gabriel made a run for it, the were nearly killed. Ashley almost took a bullet in the process scaring both her and Gabriel for life.

"No! No! I'm not going. No," Gabriel yelled at her. Ashley flinched at his outburst.

"We have to. I can't keep us both safe for much longer alone. There's people there, good people. Kids your age. This could be a good thing," she tried reasoning with him.

"Or this could be our funeral. Are you crazy? We barely got out of the last cam alive. If I'm going to die, it's not going to be at the hands of some human because my mother was too stupid to realize that we can't trust anyone." Ashley stared at him, mouth hanging wide. Not only did her 10 year old son sound like an adult, but he just threw everything back in her face. It hurt.

Finally assuming the stern mother role, she crossed her arms and gave him a hard look. "We're going, thats final. Now, please go back your things while I talk to Daryl," Ashley said. Gabriel huffed and walked out of the kitchen. Ashley turned, placing both hands on the counter and dropping her head. Her head spinning with questions, senerios. She hated not knowing.

"That didn't go well," she heard a deep raspy voice say. She looked over her shoulder to see Daryl leaning against the door frame. She shook her head and let out a long sigh before turning to face him.

"You promise me right now, Dixon, that you're not walking us into the lion's den," she hissed at him. Daryl took a few steps closer, a dark look in his eye, forcing Ashley to step back when he croweded her personal space. She didn't want to trust him. She was scared to trust him, but she had no other choice. If she stayed here with Gabriel, they were sure to die.

"I ain't," he growled to her, a dark glint in his eye from being questioned. She shook her head at him. In a past life, she would trust him with her life. But this was a new world, a heartless one.

"How can I trust you," she asked him. She searched his face for any kind of emotion. Any kind of sign that would give her a clue as to his intentions, but Dixons were notorious for erasing all emotions, keeping them locked in and never letting them show. The only way to know what they were thinking was if they told you and that was a task in itself.

"That boy is my blood, family. I ain't gonna let him die out here, he said, turning to walk out of the kitchen. Ashley felt a pang in her heart he was doing this all for Gabriel, like their past ment nothing.

"You mean how you and Merle steered me wrong, allowing me to believe you both would always be there," she said before she realized it had come out of her mouth. Daryl froze before he reached the door, his body tense and rigid with anger. He spun quickly and in a flash, was in her face, teeth bared looking like a rabid animal ready to attack.

"I didn't fuckin' leave you. You left. You disappeared. I was left alone with Merle thinkin' you didn't fuckin' want us anymore. You suddenly thought you were too good for a goddamn low life like us," he growled at her through clenched teeth. His fists were clenching, but Ashley knew he would never hit her, never lay a hand on her.

"I didn't have a choice," she whispered, pressing her back against the counter, the edges digging into her lower back as Daryl moved in closer out of anger, pinning her against it and him.

"Bull shit! You coulda told me," he said, much softer this time. He quickly took a step back from her, suddenly realizing just how close he was to her.

"Would it have made a difference?" Ashley asked him, looking at a spot on the wall, not ready to meet his eyes. She knew the answer. Daryl would have followed his brother regardless and he knew that. Instead of answering her, he just sighed and walked out of the kitchen.

"We're leaving out in 30 minutes," he called out from the living room. Ashley moved from the counter, through the house, to the back room to begin packing. She thought about their fight in the kitchen. She'd never seen that much anger directed towards her come from Daryl.

The sun was hot, humidity causing their clothes to stick to them. They'd been walking for nearly an hour, no one saying a word. The birds chirped, critters carrying on their lives like nothing was happening.

Ashley was walking next to Daryl, both in an akward silence. She was thinking about the arguement they had back in the cabin that morning. Her mind imagining what life would of been like if Merle hadn't forced her to leave.

"You goin' to tell him?" Daryl asked, breaking her thoughts. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye then looked back to Gabriel who was walking with Sophia. Ashley smiled when she saw him hold a hand out to help her over a log. Ever the gentleman, unlike his kin.

She finally shrugged. The truth was, she didn't know what to tell her son. '_This is your uncle. His ass hole of a brother is your father. We don't where he is, but they've been out of our lives for so long because your father didn't want you.' _That just seemed too mean, to harsh and heartless. Too...

"You need to figure somethin' out. People are going to talk when they see him. Kid looks like me and Merle," Daryl said. She looked back at Gabriel again, realizing he really did look like a Dixon. The darker hair, the piercing blue eyes, the ability to kill someone with just a look.

"What do you want me to tell him? If I tell him about Merle, it'll kill him. I can't do that," she said back to Daryl. He seemed to ponder on it a moment before coming to a dead stop. Ashley froze, worried Daryl was goign to tell Gabriel himself before she heard it. Footsteps. Movement. Voices. There was someone not far behind them and they were closing in.

Ashley's heart sped up. She could heart more voices. There were more people. Fear engulfed her, causing her to sweat. She motioned to Sophia and Gabriel to stay quiet and pointed to a bush. She watched as they moved behind it, crouching down low, using it for cover.

The voices were louder now. They'd walk up on them at any minute. Ashley looked to Daryl who had his crossbow out and ready, looking for a place to hide. Finding nothing on the ground, he looked up. He pointed to her then pointed to the tree behind them. She moved over to the tree as he jumped up, grabbing the branch and pulling himself up. She looked behind her one last time then looked back to Daryl. He held his hand out, ready to pull her up.

Her small hand grasped his, hanging on for dear life as she felt her feet leave the ground. His face was straining to hold her weight on one hand while his other held the tree trunk to steady himself. Once she was up, he kept a hand on her side to keep her balanced while she climbed up higher in the tree. Her mind drifted to the kids on the ground, she could just make out the bush they were hiding it. It was thick. With the pace these men were walking, she was sure they wouldn't see the kids.

Daryl perched on the branch just below her, crossbow aimed and ready incase they were spotted. Ashley held her breath as the first sign of a green shirt appeared just a few hundred yards away from the base of the tree they were in. Sortly after, 4 more men appeared, walking towards them. Ashley watched as they laughed, joked, and told vile stories of what they just finished doing to some poor woman. She cringed at the thought of what these men were capable of, thankful she had Daryl on her side if something were to happen.

The men passed by the bush and the tree without them being detected. Ashley finally let the breath out and started climbing back down the tree quietly, Daryl helping her along the way. She watched as Daryl walked around the tree, looking at something on the ground, then at their surroundings, obviously judging if it was safe for them to move on.

"C'mon. Gotta movin' 'fore they decide to circle back," he whispered to them as the kids came out of the bush, Gabriel running up to Ashley and clinging to her waist. "15 minutes and we'll be there." He turned on his heel and walked off, leaving Sophia, Ashley, and Gabriel to follow after.

Ashley watched as Daryl and Sophia walked into the camp, Sophia more like ran. She held Gabe close to her side and stood just outside the small area the group had set up. She watched as Daryl walked up to a man in a sheriffs uniform, a man in a baseball cap not far behind him. They were close enough to Ashley that she could hear the conversation

"Rick, these two found Sophia, they need a place to stay," Daryl told the man in the sheriffs uniform. Rick eyed the two of them for a moment before looking back at Daryl and nodding.

"Rick, you can't just let people in here. We don't know a damn thing about them," the other man yelled out.

"Shane," Rick said in a warning tone.

"I know them, they're good people. She can hunt, fish, cook, do laundry, damn good with a bow. The boy is only 10. Be someone for Carl to be around," Daryl said to Rick, ignoring Shane.

"So just because the redneck says so, then it means they're okay? I'm not buying it. They could have a group somewhere. It could be a set up. Think about it, Rick," Shane said. Ashley quickly made judgment and shook her head, she wasn't imposing on these people if her and Gabe weren't wanted.

"It's fine, let me just grab my bag from Daryl and we'll be on our way," Ashley yelled out to them as she walked up to Daryl. She reached for her bag, but he quickly pulled it out of her reach. "Give me my bag, Daryl. We're not wanted and I'm not going to be in the way. You know where we're staying," she said to him. Daryl just eyed her and shook his head.

"You're not goin' anywhere. You're stayin' here, damn it," he growled at her then turned turned to Shane, deadly eyes boring into him, daring him to object.

Shane scoffed and eyed Ashley for a moment, making her skin crawl. "So you know the woman for a day, and all of sudden she's more worthy of your presence than your own group," Shane growled back at Daryl.

"I've known her my whole damn life," Daryl said back. Ashley could see the muscles on his back begin to coil up. He was like a python getting ready to strike. She knew all too well, that once he got going, it was hell trying to calm him down. She reached out, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him grounded, much like he did for her earlier.

"That boy is my blood. I'm not lettin' them leave," Daryl said. Ashley sucked in a breath as Rick and Shane's mouths dropped, no doubt assuming that Gabe was his son. Ashley shook her head, ready to correct the mistake, but Daryl grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the men.

She grabbed Gabe's hand as they walked by towards the tents. Daryl quickly opened one and ushered them into it. She knew immediately it was his tent. The smell, the mess, and the items laying around screamed Dixon.

"Stay away from Shane," Daryl said as he kicked some of his stuff to one side of the tent, pulling their sleeping bags out of the sea-bag he carried and laying them down. Ashley nodded to him, too worried to speak, fearing he may snap on her or Gabriel.

"Just stay in the tent for the rest of the day. Let stuff cool down," he continued. He turned to leave before he stopped and looked at Ashley. Gabe was already sitting on one of the sleeping bags.

"Don't do anything stupid," he told her, giving her a hard look. She nodded to him before he turned around and stepped back out of the tent. Ashley let a breath she wasn't aware she was holding out, turning to face her son.

"Was he lying," Gabe asked her. Ashley gave him a questioning look.

Gabe looked down at his back pack pulling on a string mindlessly, reminding her how young he actually was. She toed him with her boot, urging him to talk.

"Is he my dad?"


End file.
